Panopticon (film)
Panopticon is a 2024 drama film from Georgia, written and directed by George Sikharulidze in his feature debut. The Georgian title is პანოპტიკონი. The story looks at the boundary between watching and being watched and reflects on post-Soviet Georgian society, showing clashes between traditional values (religious conservatism and nationalism) and the push for modernization and autonomy. The cast includes Data Chachua, Malkhaz Abuladze, and Ia Sukhitashvili. The film runs 95 minutes and is in Georgian.
Panopticon was produced by Vladimer Katcharava with co-producers Olivier Chantriaux, Anamaria Antoci, and Luca Cabriolu. It was shot in Tbilisi in summer 2022 and features cinematography by Oleg Mutu, editing by Giorgia Villa, and music by Chiara Costanza. Production companies include 20 Steps Productions, FILMO2, Ombre Rosse Film Production, Tangaj Production, and Independent Film Project. The project was supported by the Georgian National Film Center with €203,702.
The film premiered at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on June 30, 2024, where it competed for the Crystal Globe and was Georgia’s submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards (though it did not receive a nomination). It later appeared at various festivals, including Palić, Montpellier, the International Film Festival of India, Stockholm, Tallinn Black Nights, and Mannheim-Heidelberg, with more events in 2025 such as Tromsø, Marseille, and Sofia. The French release was on September 24, 2025, by The Alchemists. On AlloCiné, the film has an average rating of 3.7/5 from 17 reviews.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:28 (CET).